Monday, February 06, 2006

California's Crazy Court

Mathew Musladin, found guilty of murder, was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison. Last October, Joke Judge Stephen Reinhardt ordered him released unless the state promptly grants a retrial. Why?

Well, his victim's mother and father and some others came to the trial every day wearing buttons that showed a photograph of the victim. The defense objected but the judge in the case said he saw, ‘‘no possible prejudice to the defendant.’’

Well, Steverino Reinhardt disagreed. The poster boy judge of the ACLU, appointed by Carter and pal of the Clintons declared that the buttons presented ‘‘an unacceptable risk of impermissible factors coming into play. Under clearly established Supreme Court law such a practice interferes with the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury free from outside influences.’’

If the buttons had an effect on the trial it was so minuscule as to be meaningless. This is just one more example of Reinhardt's twisted thinking. We need to fix the ninth circus court and the sooner, the better.